When you play a casino game, the house always wins. The longer you play, the more likely you are to hit a bad streak and lose money. This is why casinos have many tactics to keep players from walking out empty-handed, including removing external cues like daylight or clocks from the gambling environment. They also pump in extra oxygen and pleasant scents to keep players alert and energized, so they can gamble for extended periods of time. In addition, they change cash into colorful discs that look just like real money to dissociate the gambler from the amount of actual dollars spent.
In addition, the layout of casinos is designed to prevent people from exiting quickly. By locating essential facilities like restaurants, bathrooms, and cash machines deep within the gaming floor, casinos ensure that players must pass by numerous slot machines and tables every time they leave or enter the establishment. This approach increases the chances of players making spur-of-the-moment decisions to make one more bet, resulting in higher overall profits for the casino.
For me, Casino is Martin Scorsese dialing Goodfellas up to 11. It’s full of gangster lore and lurid mob drama as Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro) funnels cash to his mafia elders back East. It’s also got a great supporting cast, from Joe Pesci as his mob-linked buddy Nicky Santoro to the legendary Don Rickles as a snarky casino owner.